The International Olympic Committee has announced that from next year, gaming will be considered an Olympic sport.

The inaugural Olympic e-sport competition will occur every four years with the running of the traditional Olympic Games. Though the news has been taken well by most fans of gaming, a section of critics abounds, especially now that the maiden edition will take place next year in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is a rich Middle Eastern country due to the large oil supplies within its borders. At the same time, the country is often criticized because of its human rights policy. Women have less rights there, homosexuality is forbidden and the death penalty is a rather common punishment. Recently, the country tries to improve its image by investing lots of money in soccer and online gaming, so it might become known as an attractive e-sport country.

Which ones of these games precisely remains unknown. But the organization has already barred violent games, which means popular ones such as Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Valorant will not make it through. However, Fortnite and Rocket League have a decent possibility of being included in the tournament.

There has been a debate, for a long time, about games being part of the Olympics. Some consider it the next step in the evolution of gaming, and others think that games belong absolutely nowhere near sports.

What do you think?